


Worth Protecting

by ReclessAbandon



Category: Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order (Video Game)
Genre: Anon Prompt, Bounty Hunters, Coruscant, F/M, Fluff, Healing, Jedi Temple, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Overprotective, Requested by anon, Tending, Tumblr Ask Box Fic, Tumblr Prompt, Wounds, fic request, prompted by anon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:35:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23263327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReclessAbandon/pseuds/ReclessAbandon
Summary: You get injured in the middle of a skirmish in the Jedi Temple ruins. Cal insists that you let him tend to your wounds, and hopefully, mend your pride.
Relationships: Cal Kestis/Reader
Kudos: 29





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted in my Tumblr (@veron-argentum) and was requested to me by an Anon via my askbox. I just wanted to repost it here.

It was a lazy afternoon in Bogano.

You, Cal, and Merrin were playing games to pass the time. Greez was tending to his terrarium, secretly conversing with the plants—since he believed that talking to plants boosts their growth speed—and Cere was busy tinkering with the comms in the ship.

Cere suddenly appeared from the cockpit and strode to the galley, a great urgency rung in her voice.

“We have to go,”

“Go?” Greez’s head jerked to Cere’s direction. “Go where?”

“To Coruscant.”

You and Cal stopped with whatever you were doing, your heads turn to Cere as well. Cal’s eyes were filled with shock while you sat there frozen with your mouth gaping open.

“You’re kidding?” you raised your brow at her.

“There’ll be time for questions—when we land.”

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Cal groaned.

Cere gestured Greez to hurry to the captain’s seat and set course for Coruscant. Cal took his shotgun seat while you and Merrin sat together on the couch by the holotable. For the rest of the trip, Merrin noticed that you have been queasy—at first, she assumed that you might have motion sickness but realized that you never had problems while travelling, especially through hyperspace. She gingerly places her hand on yours and her fingers softly clutched onto yours.

“You’re uneasy. Is there something wrong?”

“Coruscant used to be our home. During the Purge, it has been destroyed, I was there with my master but we were trying to escape that time,”

Cal overheard you, his last memories of that place flew into his head; the last time he was there, it was three days before the Purge—that was also the last time he saw you. Three days before the Purge, he remembered running up to you after the lecture, he was about to tell you that he was going with Tapal in a Republic command ship on the way to Bracca.

_“I wish you and your master could come with us, too bad you’re assigned to Felucia…”_

Cal still remembers the words he told you before his departure. Everything went fresh in his mind: his tone quickly shifting from excited to disappointed, how his muscles relaxed from smiling when it morphed into a frown, and how heavy was the sigh that escaped his chest when he shared the news.

_“Don’t worry, it’s only for three days. And who knows? Maybe my master and yours would send transmissions to one another—just make sure you show up in the hologram too!”_

Your younger self teased. You smiled looking back to that memory. You two planned it even though you two were fully aware you aren’t allowed to send personal transmissions unless necessary to the mission. But you didn’t care, you were too naive and innocent. You thought everything was going to be alright. Both of you did.

Cal swiveled his chair to Cere’s direction.

“Hey, Cere, I know I said ‘where to’ a few days ago but why Coruscant?”

Cere sighed and removed her headpiece. She swiveled her chair to face Cal.

“I’ve been receiving word that looters are ransacking the Jedi Temple—the only point of interest in the ruins now are the Archives. If they so much as unearth any of the holocrons there—”

“The Inquisitors will go after it,”

“Exactly,”

“Well, I hope Greez floors it,” Cal smiled and swiveled back to face front.

Meanwhile, you have been having trouble relaxing for the duration of the trip. Your chest was tight and heavy at the same time, there was also a quease at the pit of your stomach, and to stop your fingers from twitching you sink your nails to the fullness of your thighs.

“[y/n]?” Merrin softly tapped you on the back of your hand with a single finger. Even her gentleness startled you from that flashback.

“Hmm?”

“You look restless, are you alright?”

“I… really don’t know, Merrin,”

“You’re not sick, are you?”

You shake your head, and smiled at her for showing concern, “No, I’m fine, just… I just don’t know what to feel.”

Merrin did not speak anymore, but as a way of comforting you, she took you by the hand and clasped it with the other. From the cockpit, you hear Greez telling you to brace yourself as you’re about to land.


	2. Chapter 2

When Greez had landed, Cere gathered you all in the galley to brief you of your plan here in Coruscant. She places a puck that projected a holographic map of the Temple and its vicinity. 

“Here’s the plan: we are going to split up into two groups. Merrin and I will circle around the west side of the Temple. I know a secret passage that leads inside the Temple. Cal, you and [y/n] are going to take the east side of the Temple, there is also an underground passage from the lower keep,”

She zooms in on the area of the Jedi Temple where the said passage entrance is found, then she visually traces the path you ought to take that will lead you to one of its courtyard gardens.

“This garden is found in the east wing,” Cere added. “We will meet at the Jedi Archives. Understood?”

You all nod in concurrence. Cere turned off the puck, she gave one last warning before dismissing you.

“But most importantly: keep a low profile, don’t look at anybody for too long, and stay alive.”

“I think we got that covered,” You winked.

All of you prepared the supplies and weapons that you might need. You buckled your lightsaber to your belt and Cal knew that it would be a dead giveaway.

“Hold on,” he urged.

He takes you by the hand and lends you one of his ponchos so that your lightsaber remains concealed when you traverse the streets.

“Perfect fit!” he chimed.

“Thanks, Cal,” you giggled.

Before you left the ship, Cere provided a holomap for each team—but in your case, she transmitted the holomap to BD-1’s memory—while Greez stayed with the ship in case you need to do emergency take-offs. To avoid any suspicion, Cere planned to dispatch each group in different time intervals. Since your route was longer and would take more time, you and Cal went out first. From time to time, you would sneak into alleyways so that you can review the holomap without any interested eyes—ever since the Purge, the Temple has become a treasure trove for scavengers, looters, and other similar scum; should they catch sight of any leads to the Temple, you’re as good as dead to them with your maps stolen from you.

It was raining in Coruscant, which happened in the most perfect timing, because you can use your poncho hoods to blend in with the crowd.

“We have to be careful,” Cal muttered, staring at the green winding line on the holomap before tucking it in his pocket.

“Come on, the sooner we leave this alley, the less trouble we’ll get,” you add.

“Aren’t you the one who always causes trouble?” he joked.

As a response, you tug his hood until his field of vision was blocked. Both of you giggle as you continue your way to the Temple. The path to the underground passage was deserted and there were no signs of infiltration.

Good. You thought. A sealed door.

BD-1 hopped down from Cal’s shoulder and scampered closer to the door to scan it. Five seconds later, he clings onto Cal’s arm until he’s already cradling the little droid.

“You have something for us, BD?” you cooed.

“Boooop!” BD-1 whistled excitedly.

“He says the door was special,” Cal translated.

And special it was indeed. Aside from being made of pure stone, in the middle of it had a mechanism as the lock. This lock was an embossed stone likeness of the Jedi Order sigil, but upon closer inspection—of the trained eye—one can see that there is something out of place.

“Cal? [y/n]? Can you hear me?” Cere’s voice crackled through the commlink.

“Yeah, we just got to the passage but it’s sealed,” Cal answered. “According to BD’s scanners, it’s a Force-responsive lock.”

“He’s right, you’re gonna have to use the Force,”

“I got this,” you raise your hands, arms splayed out so that each arm is facing the wrong-facing bracket that is supposed to go to the side of the sigil, you concentrated and used the Force on the lock until the sigil was turned into its correct shape.

“Oh nice,” Cal commented.

“Thanks! Now come on,”

The door sealed itself closed when Cal stepped in last, the lock had reset itself—which was the perfect security measure, at least against weak-minded folk like looters.


	3. Chapter 3

The tunnel’s height was enough for both of you to stand up straight and lose the risk of getting backaches. Courtesy of BD-1, he kept the holomap on while you tread through the tunnels.

“Just straight ahead,”

“Did you know this existed, [y/n]?”

“No, did you?”

“No…”

Your voices echoed through the hollow passages, every step was light and inaudible as possible, the small flashlight you have in your hand plus the holomap were your only sources of light. The only encounters you’ve had so far were vermin that have made a home out of the unused tunnel network.

“I wonder where do the other twists and turns lead to?” You thought out loud.

“Other parts of the city, perhaps,”

“Perhaps… are we close, Cal?”

Cal stopped walking to review and retrace your steps. His finger hovered over the green line leading to the eastern garden courtyard until he pointed a part of the path where there’s a corner.

“Yes, we’re close. Just two more turns: a left but it’s the first one out of three left turns in that side, and then a right—the second one,”

With haste, you carefully find that first left turn and then the right turn. Not giving in to eagerness and impatience, you would review the holomap before you would make any turn.

“[y/n], we’re closing in on the entrance to the gardens!”

“It’s about time we’ll see some sunlight!” you exclaimed in glee.

When you found the doorway, on your side it was nothing but stone but you saw the cracks following its frame. Before opening it, you heard some unfamiliar voices chattering from the other side.

“Looters, you think?” You whispered to him.

“Maybe, or maybe troopers—be careful,”

Through the crack in the door, you were able to peek through—although you could only see very little—and silhouettes would the light through the crack; you could see the red pauldrons faintly and a vague glimpse of the armor design. Patiently, you watch their walking pattern before you could even mount an ambush.

“Well, [y/n]?”

“Three or four of them, give or take. Anytime you’re ready, Cal,”

“Come on, let’s do it,”

Using the Force with a wave of your hand to the side, the door slid open and without waiting for the reactions of the intruders, you and Cal completely caught them by surprise. There were four skinny Weequays, they blasted recklessly while you sprinted and deflected their shots until you were close enough for a killing blow.

“Where are reinforcements!?” One panicked Weequay shouted before Cal cuts him down.

Two more Weequays wielding vibroblades come running out of the main building, but Cal had robbed them the chance of fighting by Force-pulling one of them and throwing him to his companion.

“Cool bank shot, by the way,” you complimented.

“Thanks, I’ve been working on my aim,”

“You’re getting better at it, then,”

Looking around the mess, you two examined the current state of the garden after not being here in a long time. The stone benches were shattered to shapeless blocks, most of the plants have wilted and dried due to lack of care, and you discovered that the secret door to the tunnels was concealed by the foliage forming on the wall.

“This is bad,” you say out loud. You turn on your commlink, “Cere, we’ve arrived in the gardens but there were some scavengers in here.”

“That is a problem, just make your way to the main hall and head for the Archive,”

“Do you think it’s the Haxion Brood?”

“I’m not really sure. The Brood is more interested in kidnapping people and droids for their ring fights, this must be a different syndicate, be vigilant.”

The communication stopped there, while you were speaking with Cere, Cal found the same helmet used by younglings during lightsaber practice. This was the kind of helmet whose rim was so low that it practically blindfolded you from seeing the remote droids. He felt the Force from the helmet and he could hear a familiar voice,

_“Your feelings you must use, when clouded your vision is,”_

_“But shouldn’t it be better if we could actually see?” an impatient Padawan groaned, his frustrated growl echoed in Cal’s head._

_“Senses you always use, yes—but deceive you, they do! When trusting and feeling with the Force, never fail you it will, hmm.”_

The sounds that the droids make and the humming of many lightsabers all at once felt fresh in Cal’s ears, it’s as if he’s witnessing it happen for real in front of his very eyes.

“Cal?”

“This is where the younglings were sometimes brought to for lightsaber practice, Master Yoda would personally proctor them.”

You walked up and knelt beside Cal, you gingerly took the helmet from his hands and examined it closely: the smudges of dust and soil obscured its original white color, there were cracks on the edges—an indication that it was dropped at some point—and a shattered eye shield.

“The poor things,” you muttered, your heart felt heavy when you turned your head to the secret door. “They would have made it.”

“Come on, [y/n], we have to go,”

You gently put down the helmet where Cal found it, he took you by the hand and helped you stand up. He sensed that it was too heartbreaking for you, he felt the slightest tremble in your fingers, and your sadness infected him. You knew some of these younglings, most of them called you, “Big Sister,” and called Cal, “Big Brother.”

You headed for the main building. Now that you’ve discovered that the thieves have made their way into the Temple, your caution and vigilance doubled, and lightsabers always at the ready.


	4. Chapter 4

Finding the Jedi Archives was almost too easy as you knew the Temple by heart—after all, you two grew up in here. Cal assumed that thieves would see it as a labyrinth since they have never set foot in here until now. Merrin also reported that they have encountered scavengers on their end as well, but it was only a cinch—as she puts it, you personally don’t doubt her anyway.

You find yourselves in the main lobby at the ground floor. The Temple was abandoned when the Clone Troopers have finished their business here, it was a horrid sight to see after spotting some skeletons that were either left unnoticed or ignored when they were destroying the bodies. The whole place is a nightmare.

Your ears pricked up as you sensed the incoming group of looters coming from the south-eastern side.

“Cal, I can hear them coming!” you warned. “There’s got to be another way to get there without picking a fight.”

“And the Archives is three floors away from here,”

Luckily, the destruction has afforded you a series of shortcuts. Both of you had to make minor adjustments by creating a path using whatever surfaces and objects that you can move. Climbing up crumbled walls and beams have led you right away to the second floor.

“There,” you nodded at the direction ahead of you. “The elevators!”

You and Cal sprint towards the sealed elevators but Cal spots a terminal just by its door.

“BD-1, think you can fix it?”

“Bee-boo-boo-beeep!”

Without question, the droid hopped down and his little legs skittered like mad, matching up to your pace until he reached the terminal, slicing the control panel and essentially removing the lockdown in the elevator.

“I knew we could count on you, little buddy!” You cheered.

The three of you hopped into the elevator heading for the third floor. The heavy breathing between you and Cal were the only sounds in the lift aside from the humming sound that the elevator makes while it pulls you up.

“You know,” you gasped. “Some parts bring back memories.”

“Yeah,” Cal agreed, gasping for breath too, one look at you and he smiles through the huffing. At a glance, every good memory that happened between you and him flashed in his eyes. “It sure does.”

You look back at him, you shoot him a mischievous smile and he smiled back, your hand clutched onto his and gave it a tight squeeze. When the elevator stopped at the third floor and opened its doors, your vigilance was back again after that breather inside the lift; your lightsabers illuminated the dim hallway until you spotted a familiar entrance.

“Look!” you exclaimed.

“That’s the entrance to the Archives, alright,”

“Stay sharp, I can sense something in there,”

“Yeah,” Cal breathed deeply. “Me too.”

Side by side, you two approach the Archives with great caution as you saw that the main door was left open—but the manner of how it was opened was off, there were creases on the rims, as if something with big hands have split it open with complete brute force.

“Only a big droid could have done this,” Cal commented. “A droid like the ones Haxion Brood has.”

“I have a bad feeling about this,” you muttered.

As you stepped into the library’s foyer, at first one would think it was dead silent with no one around, but a second look would pay off—rather, in this case, a second listen. You looked around, searching for something—anything—that would give away its position. Your senses sharpened by the Force did not betray you before, it could not betray you now.

There!

You heard the faint whirring of a Bounty Droid, it’s probably moving its limbs while walking around the aisles. You can pinpoint it coming from the left side at the farthest shelf until it actually walked out into the light but it did not notice you.

On the right, in one of the closer shelves, you hear the single click of a blaster rifle’s switch. Cal heard it too and prepared himself for an attack. When the armed looter, an adult male Duros, appeared out of hiding, you immediately severed its blaster’s barrel—completely taking him by surprise.

“Huh?! It’s the Jedi! Two of ‘em!” he shouted, alarming the bounty droid and his other companions hiding amongst the shelves.

You practically impaled this looter and gut him open for good measure—in case his body still has the sheer will to survive that stab.

The bounty droid aimed its blaster at your general direction but Cal deflected them all back at it. He comes running up to it for a split-saber attack and damaged its armor quite heavily. Another looter comes out from the shadows to assist the droid.

You took on the other graverobber who is also a Duros, but its fighting style was so sloppy you assumed that it knew nothing of combat—you immediately disarmed him the moment he pulled out his blade.

“Go! I’ll deal with these fleas myself!” The droid instructed the Duros and the scum booked it.

“HEY!!” You screeched, sprinting towards him until you gained on him.

“[Y/N], WAIT!”

Cal hurriedly destroyed the bulky clanker to go after you while you’re chasing the thief Duros.


	5. Chapter 5

You eventually cornered him after he took a wrong turn into a dead end. He backed away until he hugged the rocks that blocked the path, while you kept your distance from him. You point your lightsaber at his face.

“That thing,” you hissed. “Give it, you blue slime with legs!”

The Duros clutched it to his chest, even without pupils you saw the fear in his eyes, you take one step close to intimidate him—to show him that you mean it—Cal caught up to you and his presence multiplied the thief’s fear.

“We have you outnumbered, thief! I’d hand it over if I were you,” you snarled.

“Oh, I don’t think so, my sweet,” he eerily chuckled.

Suddenly, there was a shift in the ambience, the Duros smirked confidently and jumped off from the third floor. The engine of a jetpack buzzed and Duros had ascended himself to your level, rubbing his sweet escape in your face. Without any forethought, you threw your lightsaber at his jetpack before he could get farther away; your throw met its mark, the jetpack belched out smoke and sparks until it was rendered useless.

At the corner of his eye, Cal spotted a rope that can lead you to the ground floor where the Duros had taken his fall. He takes the rope with one hand and snatched you by the waist with the other. You two swooped down smoothly while the Duros was still recovering from his fall damage.

“Hand it over,” Cal growled.

“Oh, I think my friends wouldn’t like that,” the Duros croaked.

Two bounty droids and a team of armed hunters come out from all possible sides. You and Cal pressed your backs against one another while looking at the enemies.

“I’m not gonna wait any longer to crush ‘em!” One of the bounty droids starts to brace and charge itself towards you—running over two of the thieves in its way, killing them instantly with the blunt force and speed.

“Well, I guess that’s our cue,” you blurted. 

Both of you dodged the incoming clanker, the hunters have already opened fire, and some of them start swinging their handheld weapons at either of you.

“Cal? [y/n]? Where are you?!” Cere’s voice buzzed through your own commlink.

“We’re here at the ground floor. We didn’t see you in the Archives, but we found some unexpected guests!” you report while you strike down an enemy. “I think we have new friends over from the Haxion Brood, and they have taken one of the holocrons!”

“Cere, where are you?” Cal added.

“Merrin and I have been sidetracked too!”

“We came from the hangar but got distracted, and we’re still distracted,” Merrin coolly added, the humming of her magick crackling through the commlink.

The fight was tedious. You didn’t expect Cere and Merrin to come to your aid since they are caught up as well. The ones with jetpacks were the troublesome ones, so you decided to deal with them first by destroying their escape routes attached to their backs.

“[y/n], Cal! Try to get the holocron from them, it’s important they don’t make it out of there with it!” Cere alerted you through the comm.

You and Cal were beginning to thin out the herd. You’ve stopped the ones with jetpacks, including the one you’ve chased from the Archives, and you’ve taken the holocron from his jacket pocket before any of his friends could. The last melee swordsman threw a bomb at you but Cal quickly Force-pushed it back at them. Now all that’s left are the bounty droids.

“Finally, we got to the good part,”

“I can see your sarcasm still hasn’t tired itself out,” Cal chuckled.

“Well, someone’s got to keep our morale up!”

You each took on a bounty droid on your own, they were sturdy and surprisingly nimble for something that burly and heavy. Deflecting their blaster fire helped add some damage against them, but cutting them down worked best.

“Cal, they’re too strong! I don’t seem to be tiring them down!”

“Keep pressing on! We’ll find a weak spot!”

Cal was doing okay with the fighting, but the droid you were fighting against had another blaster attached to its other arm.

“You got another thing comin’!” the droid bellowed cockily and started blasting with both.

You were able to deflect shots from both blasters for a time—you didn’t want to ask for Cal’s help, you know you can do it—but the droid would charge at you with very little window time for you to react against it, and so you were overwhelmed.

You took two blows from the blaster—one on the shoulder and another on the thigh. Your cry alarmed Cal, he wanted to cut in and help you but he was busy killing off his bounty droid. In a last effort attempt, you brave through the searing pain of the blasts on your body and killed off the bounty droid, piercing through its cyclopean eye before slicing it across the waist.

“[y/n], you’re hurt!”

“It’s nothing, Cal, I’m fine!”

“Nonsense,” Cal flicked the button on his comm. “Cere, [y/n] has been injured. We need to head back!”

“Do you have the holocron with you?”

“Yes, we’re moving out!”

He switched off the commlink and scooped you up bridal-style. Your weight was nothing to him and he bolted through the aftermath of the skirmish back to the ship. In the midst of his adrenalin, he saw no other exit but the main entrance, he didn’t think much about what people would think or assume when seeing two people come out of the ruins of the Jedi Temple.


	6. Chapter 6

Cal, with you in his arms, went down the winding, crowded streets of Coruscant back to the landing bay; startling passersby as he shoulders his way through the people, when you two realize you’re already in the main compound of the landing bay, Cal immediately called Greez through the commlink, telling him to open the door.

Without question, Greez opened the door as soon as you stepped into your designated bay. Cal rushed you into the ship and set you down on the couch, he sits beside you while BD-1 panics on the lounge table, anxiously waiting for Cal’s signal to hand him the stim which he has already popped out of his compartment.

“Hey, hey, she’s not bleeding, is she?” Greez exclaimed in panic.

“No, but she’s hurt real bad!”

Greez asked about Cere and Merrin’s whereabouts, you explained—while hissing and gasping in pain—that you two had to go ahead. Not much later, Cere spoke through Greez’s comm and told him that they’re on their way back, they just retrieved another holocron after their own skirmish.

“I could’ve taken that bounty droid!” You exclaimed, both frustrated and in pain.

“You know that you did what could do,” Cal consoled.

BD-1 was relieved that Cal finally took the stim that has been sticking out of the top of his head, he carefully injected the needle on the flesh between your shoulder and breast, and you felt the bacta fluid running in your bloodstreams, numbing you of the pain.

“I’m gonna patch you up, okay?”

You nodded and let him bandage your leg, BD-1 helped with preparing the materials. After that, he was choking back his words and gulping the nervous lump in his throat.

“Y-Your jacket…”

You stared at him for a time, until you realized that he needed to patch up your shoulder. Without you telling him what to do, he turned his back to you; you smiled in secret and removed your jacket while he wasn’t looking.

The blaster wound was still fresh but most of the pain has worn off thanks to BD-1’s stim. Just to make doubly sure, Cal smeared off a generous amount of bacta gel on the wound before bandaging it.

When he was holding you by the side of your waist, you suddenly winced, he saw that you had a cut on your back too—probably from one of the looters who wielded a blade. He also applied bacta gel on that and you flinched when his fingers touched your skin.

“Sorry, it stings, I know,” he cooed.

“You know you really didn’t have to do that, Cal,”

“Do what?”

“Back there at the temple. I thought I had everything under control, I thought I was strong enough to take it on,” you trail off.

He clicked his tongue, “It was a little reckless of you to chase that one out of the Archives,”

“Yeah, it was stupid of me,” you agreed as you chuckled. “I guess I’m not as strong as I think I was, that I still need someone else to help me—I wouldn’t want that, I don’t want anybody to get hurt just because they felt obliged to me.”

For a moment, Cal’s hands slowed down in dabbing gel on your wound. The last sentence you said caught him off guard. He was letting your words sink in to him, he was suddenly lost in thought. Then his eyes caught on to you, looking at you longingly and with such expression that screams, “I will not let anything harm you.”

His knuckles smoothly ran up and down the skin of your arm, the huskiness in his whispering voice was kept only for you.

“You’re not a burden, you know, and you shouldn’t feel like one. You are one of the strongest and bravest people I’ve ever known in my life. And besides, it was my choice to protect you,”

“You don’t regret that choice?”

He looked deeply into your eyes while he propped his elbows on his thigh. The space between you and him was so narrow that you held your breath.

“No, I’ll always choose to protect you and I’ll never regret it,”

“Really?”

“Really,” he softly smiled. “I won’t ever leave you, I can promise you that.”

Your lips slowly curled upwards, managing a smile, and he smirks back, brushing away the loose strip of hair to the back of your ear. He continues his patchwork on your shoulder, secures the bandage with a firm knot, and—for his finishing touch—plants a kiss on your shoulder and cheek for “extra healing effect,” or so he says as he winked at you.


End file.
